A Cure for the Quirkless

Quirklessness. The majority of society tends to overlook this… problem? No. Problem is not the right word for it. It's just a way of life for many people, 20% of the population to be precise, and most of those people feel like they're left behind; left out of something wonderful. They believe that they were born weaker and feel worthless in a society that revolves around quirks.

However, Bask Wyke never felt this way. He and his sister, Lyla, never really had time to think about such matters. When she was eighteen and Bask was eight, they lost both of their parents in a car crash. Deaths from car accidents had been dropping in frequency for the past few decades. With the emergence of quirks, human bodies became stronger and more resilient to damage. However, their family was quirkless with the exception of Lyla. Their parents did not have the advantage of stronger bodies and died from the impact of a quirked driver, who easily took it and drove away moments later. They were never caught.

It was tough, obviously, at first. Their parent's life insurance only barely covered their funeral so Lyla took whatever jobs she could find and was still going through college. Bask was considered a problem child at school, mostly for never speaking and not interacting with the rest of the class. Bask barely talked to anyone other than his parents and sister and after his parents passed, she was the only one he talked to and even then, rarely.

Lyla always looked sad when he came home with a note from the teacher. She always told him to try harder the next day and he would. She was the only person he cared about, so he didn't want to let her down. Things changed… well he changed when he awoke one night to the sound of crying. The sight of his sister sobbing over bills and homework, just trying to keep them together; he never wanted to see that again. So, he began to work harder at everything…

He began to look up ways to make money, many of them out of reach for someone like him. However, he soon found an article about the Hero Support Fair, for the general populace to show off designs for support equipment. Hero support companies would attend and sometimes even buy the designs for hefty sums. To him this seemed like the best route, so he took it.

At school, he would finish his work before going through book after book of technical manuals, engine designs, machines much too complicated for an eight-year-old. He didn't understand them, so after arriving at home and doing chores he would head to the nearest scrap yard. He knew Lyla wouldn't approve so he had to time it between her work shifts. He began by building the simplest of machines first, pulley systems, small wagons and eventually worked up to building his own bike.

After that he took a major leap and started making his own combustion engines. It took him a month and a half to successfully create one; still only powerful enough to power a push lawnmower. By then he only had 2 months until the Fair.

"What are you doing up so late, Bask." He jolted from his seat at the sudden voice. He had been so focused on the book before him that he hadn't even heard his sister enter the apartment. He looked up to see her standing over him while he was sitting at the kitchen table with a dim light casting a shadow over the book; she looked tired. Of course, having two after-school jobs she always looked tired. It was rare for her to get even three hours of sleep.

"I was just looking over some support tool diagrams. I'm just trying to see what I could make for the Support Fair, but this book is old and falling apart.", He said without much energy.

"Let me see what I can do about that.", She ruffled his black hair as she placed her hand upon the weathered book and began to hum. As her soft voice filled the room, old stains began to disappear and beaten pages began to look like new. She let go of the now restored book and spoke, "There all done, but you need to go to bed bro.

He shook his head, "Not until I find something that a hero would need."

Lyla sighed when something came to mind, "I remember seeing some new hero straight out of school chase a purse snatcher the other day. He sure looked like he needed help getting around and through the crowds. Maybe something like an old-fashioned grappling hook?"

Bask scratched his head, "Maybe, but it will have to be something really eye-catching for the support companies. I'll look into later." He yawned as well and they both made their way to their respective rooms.

"Speaking of which, Bask. Where have you been getting the stuff you need to make all these things?"

Bask felt a cold chill at his sister's question and nervously answered, "W-Well you know… just around the house." Lyla turned from her door to look at him with a questioning stare.

"You haven't been going to the scrapyard, have you?" Bask quickly made his way into his room and shut the door behind him. "Bask!?"

The day of the Fair had finally arrived and people from all over the state had come to either show off or watch technical marvels in the works. The Fair was taking place in a large glass and metal rotunda known as the Everrisk Building. It was set up where each individual had their own section to demonstrate their tools. Luckily there was no required fee to have a section put up, but you could pay to have a larger and more noticeable section. As it was, Bask's section was miniscule at best, covering roughly that of a small bathroom.

Bask was, to put it mildly, extremely nervous to show off his device. He was more than likely the youngest one there and that did not help his chances at being taken seriously. Lyla stood off to the side as she watched him prepare to demonstrate to any passerby that took an interest in what the child could possibly have made. She was nervous as well but mostly because he usually didn't do well around other people besides her. He would simply lock up and not talk when confronted normally but she hoped his passion for his invention would keep that from happening. As she was lost in thought she finally noticed that someone was looking at Bask. She moved closer to hear what they would say.

The man before Bask was an older gentleman judging by his gray hair. He wore a casual business suit and held a briefcase but what caught Bask's attention was the man's mechanical right arm. It seemed to be fitted with a number of electronics that Bask probably couldn't comprehend. After taking his eyes off the arm he noticed the man giving him an inquisitive look, "Well, are you going to show me what you got kid?" Bask nervously turned around and equipped his device; what appeared to be clunky mess of coils, wires, and a small engine all wrapped around a metal cast.

Bask grunted as he reached down and pulled the starter handle on the small engine getting a few sputters from it in response. He pulled a second time and this time the power of the engine reverberated throughout his body causing him to shake and the noise to fill the area he was in getting several other people to look over at the small boy. Bask steadied himself and aimed the makeshift gauntlet at a nearby stone pillar and flicked a switch on the cast. The engine suddenly sputtered and stopped and the area fell silent with a large crowd now watching.

Bask nervously looked down at the cast and gave it a good shake when suddenly there was a loud BANG! A sharp metal point attached to a wire shot out at incredible speed and hit the stone pillar with enough force to imbed itself. Bask smiled to himself before flicking another switch and the wire began to reel itself back in. His smile faded when the wire sped up and pulled him across the buildings floor way too fast. He tried to stop but the machine was hell-bent on disobeying him. He slammed into the pillar face first and would have fallen over backwards if not for the cast attaching him to the pillar.

As it was, he was currently leaning backwards with a bleeding nose and wounded pride. Lyla rushed forward to help her brother and as she was running, she heard laughter. She looked around to see the crowd had begun laughing at the scene before them. She ignored them and reached out to lift Bask back up to his feet. As he got resettled, he jerked his arm, trying to wrench the grapple out of the stone, but it was stuck fast. He reluctantly removed his hand from the cast and turned to face the old man, trying to ignore the laughing crowd around them.

He saw the old man doubled over in laughter with tears streaming from his eyes. Bask felt heat rush into his face as overwhelming embarrassment hit him. He had come to show that he could make something worthwhile, but all he had done was make a fool of himself in front of everyone. He looked to Lyla with tears in his eyes, "I want to go home." Lyla felt her heart twist at the site then she was overcome with rage and she rushed over to the old man.

"Quit laughing at him! He's just a child, he did the best he could!"

The man looked up at the young woman before trying to compose himself. He picked up his briefcase, which he had dropped in fits of laughter, and let out a few small chuckles before coughing and addressing Lyla.

"I apologize for the outburst. It was rude of me to laugh at the child's misfortune." Lyla continued glaring at him and man began scratching the back of his head as he shrank under her gaze. The man quickly walked past her to Bask and reached inside his suit and pulled out a small card. He handed it over to the still crying child who reluctantly took it.

As Bask read the card his eyes went wide and he stared up at the man. "If you can build something spectacular, I'll get you a larger section in next year's Fair. Think of it as my apology to you, young man."

With that, the man walked away, leaving a stunned Bask who continued to stare at the card. Lyla came up to him and asked, "Well, what does the card say, Bask?"

"That was Michael Everrisk. He's the one who runs the Fair!" Lyla was shocked to say the least, that such an important man would take an interest in Bask but she couldn't stop her pride for her little brother from swelling.

As the two made their way home, walking along the sidewalk, from the Fair Bask looked sullen. His first outing with showing his invention was a complete failure. Lyla noticed this and tried to cheer him up.

"It was pretty amazing that you made that by yourself. When I was your age, I couldn't even come close to understanding some of the stuff that probably went into making it." She heard sniffling coming from her side and she looked down to see Bask tearing up.

"All I w-wanted was t-t-to help you! I don't want to be a b-burden anymore!" Bask tried to hold back his emotions but all of his stress had finally culminated to this point.

Lyla lowered herself so that she was looking directly into Bask's eyes. "Bask Lero Wyke, how dare you think yourself a burden. You know that's not true." Lyla began to break down, tears running down her face, "You're the only one I have left. I wouldn't be able to make it without you." Lyla pulled Bask into a hug as they wept into each other's shoulders. Deep within his heart, Bask felt the same way about her. She was the only one he had, so he steeled his resolve once again and made a promise to himself. That he would surpass everyone's expectations, even his own and make sure that his sister would never have to worry about anything again.

The months went by relatively quickly as Bask worked harder than he ever had before in his life. He didn't want Lyla to worry about his school life so he made sure that he stayed with the class in terms of studying and tests. When he wasn't working on school work he focused all waking hours on improving his knowledge of technology and working on his next invention. This obviously meant he had no real social life. Lyla was still the only one he talked to and they didn't see each other much, with her work hours.

The scrapyard wasn't cutting it anymore for the materials he would be needing, so he took a big risk and began to pilfer through the dumpsters of nearby support companies for any unused materials that he could salvage. He knew what he was doing wasn't technically legal, however he didn't really have a choice, as buying these materials would be impossible for him and his sister. With what he could scrounge up he began improving his tool and adding more features to it until it no longer resembled what he had demonstrated.

He kept at it for the whole year, surpassing himself by leaps and bounds every day. He still went to the scrapyard, but now it was to test his invention as he couldn't test something this dangerous around the house. But after a whole year of improving his invention and himself he finally believed he was ready for the Support Fair. As he stood amidst the destroyed cars and smoking craters left by his previous testing session, he pulled out the card he had received from Mr. Everrisk and dialed the number.

The Fair was bustling, even more so than last year as it draws more and more people into a technological fantasy. All around the rotunda, budding inventors were showing off designs for new engines, improved field medical tech, oxygen gel rebreathers and many more marvels. And at the front entrance display, surrounded by all of those marvels and more, stood an unassuming nine-year old boy. Standing at the side of the entrance, watching the display was Mr. Everrisk and Lyla. They had both seen the invention in action and were waiting anxiously for others to witness it.

Bask walked up to the front of the display and tapped the mic that was hooked to his collar. "Excuse me everyone, could I have your attention?" His voice rang out with confidence amongst the crowd. He believed in his invention and doubt didn't enter his mind. As the crowd gathered in front of the display, Bask took a moment to reach into his pocket and pull out what appeared to be a small metal disk. When he believed the full crowd had gathered, he put the disk into the palm of his hand and pressed firmly in the center of it.

The disk immediately spread across his palm and reached the back of his hand where it began to fold out down his forearm and up his fingers. The black metal had a slight sheen to it as it completely enclosed his forearm. The crowd was murmuring amongst themselves at the display but kept quiet otherwise. Bask spoke up while raising his arm in front of him, "This will be a demonstration of the All-Purpose Utility Gauntlet, or what will from now on be calling the APUG for short. First, a test of the APUGs original purpose."

He pointed the gauntlet straight into the air and closed his hand into a fist. A slot opened on top of his wrist and fired a grappling hook that rocketed into the ceiling and imbedded itself there. He casually flexed his thumb and the grapple wire quickly pulled him up towards the ceiling before just stopping short. He then closed his thumb back and the wire extended back out, lowering him to the ground. The eyes of the audience never left the boy. "As you can see, the original purpose of the APUG was to act as a grappling hook for quick traversal of urban environs. The APUG is designed in such a way that the user won't feel much strain when using it to swing and the carbon fiber wire is to ensure it won't snap even under heavy impacts."

"On to the second feature." As the show continued, he displayed a high-powered laser for cutting through surfaces such as locked or barricaded doors, which he demonstrated on a steel plate. Then pressing a button on the display stage, a test dummy was raised up from the floor. He launched the grappling hook toward the dummy showing another use for it, as it wrapped around the dummy before pulling it towards him and winding up a punch. As the punch collided with the adult sized dummy the wire wrapping around it fell away and it was launched backwards into the stage wall, leaving a large dent in the metal.

"As you can see, the APUG also reinforces the user's strength many times over." As he said this the grappling wire reeled itself back in and as it finished a small beep was heard. "Ah, the beep you just heard was the final feature being charged. It was charged by the use of the grappling hooks built in electro-magnetic induction coil. The more you use the grappling hook, the faster it charges. Now for a demonstration of the gauntlets true power." At the entrance, both Lyla and Mr. Everrisk covered their ears in anticipation.

After another button press, a large three-foot thick steel plate was raised up. Bask walked up to the plate and pressed an open palm into the center of the cold metal. He then swiftly pulled back and slammed right back into the steel. BOOM! The resounding shockwave echoed throughout the rotunda. Luckily the glass was reinforced, so none of the large windows were shattered. As the crowd recovered from the loud noise and shockwave, they looked up in surprise to see a dent in the steel plate that was larger than the boy was.

With that Bask pressed into the very center of his palm and the APUG folded itself back into a disk. He raised his arms into the air and displayed the disk with an impassive look on his face, "The APUG ladies and gentlemen. The next absolute must support tool." He bowed and was met with immediate applause and many questions; however, he tuned all that out to hear the sound of numbers being thrown around by several men in suits. Even the lowest dollar amounts were in the millions. He smiled as he looked to his sister, who was absolutely beaming. He kept his promise; he would be able to take care of her now.

Five Years Later

Bask was sitting amongst the crowd as his sister was handed her Master's Degree. He stood up and began to applaud despite being the only one to do so. He didn't mind. None of these other people mattered to him. He was only here for her. As the ceremony wrapped up Bask ran to his sister and pulled her into a hug and she returned it. "I'm proud of you Lyla. Oh sorry, Dr. Lyla."

Lyla blushed at that, "I can't believe I made it. It took so long but I'm glad you were there to help me along the way, Bask."

"So, where are you going to work? We can go anywhere in the world and you know money is no object."

Lyla giggled. Her brother had helped her stay sane when their parents had passed and when he became one of the best inventors in the country her burdens were eased even more. For the past five years he had been pumping out inventions and taking personal requests from the top hero's for support items. She couldn't be prouder of him.

"Well I have one place in mind, but I can tell you when we get home." Bask nodded and they walked to the car.

"Japan? Why would they need a therapist like you?" Bask looked understandably confused at that choice.

Lyla smiled, "I did some research and it seems before quirks, Japan's suicide rate was among the highest in the world. You would think with its low crime rate in this day and age, that those numbers would have dropped, but they haven't. And it seems that a particular group is what makes up most of those numbers."

"What group would that be?"

"The quirkless." She stated simply. Bask's eyes narrowed as he thought about it. Sure, he was quirkless as well but he never let it bother him. And sure, there had been the occasional bully that picked on him because he was different but he always just tuned them out like he did with everybody. But everyone wasn't the same as him, he knew that. Many would probably not know how to handle the discrimination or maybe the fact that they could never even attempt to be a hero, one of the most sought-after jobs in the world.

"Alright. It looks like we're going to Japan!"

A/N

For those of you wondering, no I am not abandoning The Power To Repel Everything. I just felt inspired to write something different. Hope you enjoy.